What is a grandma?

My website stats show that folks often arrive at Grandma's Briefs by way of the search query, "What is a grandma?" As we grandmas darn well know, defining who and what we are isn't as simple as penning a few sentences similar to a dictionary entry.

That said, the Grilled Grandmas are experts in the field, so I figured combining their answers to the grilling question of "What one word do you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you?" would provide a pretty darn accurate answer of what a grandma is, or at least what one should strive to be.

So I did it. I went through all the Grilled Grandmas—from the very first to the one featured last week—collected their answers to that question, and input them into Wordle, using each word only one time (some, such as love, fun, and caring, were mentioned numerous times).

And here, my friends, is the result: The ultimate answer to the ever-burning question of ...

What is a grandma?

Bottom line? Looks to me like the best way to put it is that grandmas are just plain awesome!

Today's question:

What other words do you think should be added?

National Humor Month: Giggles and grins for kids

April is National Humor Month. Don't let it end without getting in a few giggles, grins, and groans with the grandkids.

Here are a few to get things started:

What does a baby ear of corn call its father?
Pop Corn.

Why are movie stars cool?
Because they have so many fans.

How many months have 28 days?
All of them.

Two snowmen are standing in a meadow. One snowman turns to the other and says, "Do you smell carrots?"

What is the strongest bird?
A crane.

On which side does a leopard have the most spots?
On the outside.

What did the hat say to the hat rack?
“You stay here. I’ll go on ahead.”

How do you find a lost rabbit?
Easy. Just make a sound like a carrot.

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Donut.
Donut who?
Donut ask me any more silly questions.

What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A palm tree.

What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor?
“Where’s my tractor?”

How many letters are there in the alphabet?
Eleven—T..h..e...A..l..p..h..a..b..e..t

What is the difference between here and there?
The letter T.

What did the bad chicken lay?
A deviled egg.

Why did the students eat their homework?
Because their teacher said it was a piece of cake.

Why does a flamingo lift up one leg?
Because if he lifted up both legs he would fall over.

Where can everyone always find money when they look for it?
In the dictionary.

Why do male deer need braces?
Because they have buck teeth.

What kind of hair do oceans have?
Wavy.

What kind of car does Mickey Mouse's wife drive?
A Minnie van.

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Mayor.
Mayor who?
Mayor days be filled with love and laughter.

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

The last person I shared a joke with was _______________.

Snickers, smiles, and laughing out loud

I'm not one to laugh out loud a whole heck of a lot. I'm a fairly happy person, I've got a pretty active funny bone, but I tend to snicker or chuckle or just plain smile at things that might make others literally LOL.

Except, of course, when it comes to my kids and grandkids.

My daughters make me laugh out loud. Often. Once, when Megan and Andrea (my youngest two) were away at college, they came home for the weekend. The Monday they left, I spent a good while trying to figure out why I had such pains in my ribs, as we'd definitely not done a whole lot of physical activity while they were home. We did, though, laugh and laugh and laugh, and I eventually realized my ribs hurt so much because I'd been laughing so hard all weekend long.

My grandsons make me laugh out loud, too. I think grandchildren make most grandparents laugh out loud on a fairly regular basis. Which is why I ask the Grilled Grandmas, "Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud." I love the stories the grandmas relate.

Because my grandsons live so far away and I only see them every couple months, my grandchild-induced LOLing happens only every couple months as well.

For the most part.

A few days ago, despite the 815 miles between us, my grandsons made me laugh. Out loud. By myself. And then again as I shared the story with Jim.

Megan texted me pictures of Baby Mac and Bubby on Monday, each preceded by her caption for the photo. The first two were certainly cute. It was the third, though, that elicited the elusive LOL from Gramma.

FIRST TIME IN A POOL

BRING YOUR SWIMSUIT!

THEIR REACTION TO ME IN MY SWIMSUIT

Baby Mac seems to have gotten quite a kick out of Mommy's poolside fashion. Such a silly, silly boy.

Turns out, though, it was Mommy who was silly. Megan admitted in a later phone call that her attire wasn't really the reason Baby Mac was laughing so hard; she just thought it would make a cute caption.

And it did.

And it made me laugh.

Out loud.

Like I said, my grandsons and my daughters are the ones most capable of making me laugh out loud.

Even if one particular daughter is a big ol' liar.

(Or maybe just a mom who would rather be considered a liar than a swimsuit-clad laughing stock to her sons.)

Today's question:

Who makes you laugh out loud the most often?

Nine in five

Nine things I've learned in the last five days:

1. I will never again use Kool-Aid to color Easter eggs. The colors aren't vibrant, purple turns brown, green is impossible (even if you mix yellow and blue), and the color doesn't stay on the eggs very well at all.

2. Woodpeckers will from now on be called Woodeffers by me because they do nothing but eff up the wood on the side of my house. And they chuckle from the trees when I chase them off, only to return to their previous effing pecking spot the instant I go inside.

3. Traditions started in childhood continue to matter—as much to my daughters as to me.

4. Photos sent via text messaging are the next best thing to Skype which is the next best thing to being there.

(Though it would have been nice to be there to hug Baby Mac, who looks a wee bit scared of—or, more likely, annoyed by—Mr. Bunny.)

5. Popping Vitamin E pills really does help with cracked heels. Literally popping the pills, that is, and rubbing the oil into your heels.

6. I can't get enough Bones. The series. We may be late comers to the series, but thanks to instant streaming on Netflix, Jim and I are well into the fourth season and never at a loss for what to watch on TV despite having canceled cable several months ago. (And we will surely be just as sad to end the marathon viewing sessions as we were when we finished Lost. And Firefly. And Lie to Me. And Friday Night Lights. And Sons of Anarchy.)

7. Jim is dead serious about preferring chocolate desserts over any other kind. Even ones that look—and taste!—as delicious as the Mini Cheesecakes I made for Easter dinner.  

8. I'm no longer compelled to stay awake until my children come home after a night out, proven by my being sound asleep when our Easter weekend houseguest, Andrea, went out with friends Saturday night and got home well after the bars had closed.

9. Despite huge changes to the dynamics and logistics over the past several years, the best part of each and every holiday has remained the same: time with my favorite people, my family—all except the desert dwellers, of course.

(Even when they're dorks like Brianna and Andie and unwittingly wear the very same outfit on the same day.)

Today's question:

What have you recently learned?

The Saturday Post: Egg inspiration edition

Tonight Jim, Brianna, Andrea and I will color our Easter eggs. I thought I was being fairly creative by breaking with tradition and buying all we need to try decorating our eggs using Kool Aid. Well, let's just say our colorful eggs to come ain't got nothing on these interesting creations, some of which I plan to try out next year.

Today's question:

What is your most tried and true egg-decorating technique?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

As I'd mentioned we'd hoped to, Jim and I spent Saturday afternoon at my sister's ranch, and we were delighted Brianna accepted our invitation to join us.

We rode ATVs...

Gave target practice our best shot...

Indulged in a little horseplay...

And enjoyed time with family we hadn't seen in a while...

Three things I learned from the day:

1. Allow more time next visit so we can go on an actual horseback ride after warming up the horses in the corral.

2. I'm a far better shot with a .22 than I—or anyone else—expected, especially considering I had never shot a gun of any size before. A "natural" even, according to the best ranch host ever, my nephew Coltan.

3. I'm still a big chicken when it comes to ATVs. I (reluctantly) rode with Jim to the shooting range; after target practice, I told them to enjoy their wild four-wheeling in the canyon without me and walked back to the house. Which was fine because it allowed me to add a few scenic photos to my collection of 980 photos from the day.

Today's question:

What were your picture-perfect moments from the weekend, whether you had a camera in hand to document or not?

Grandma's Game Night

Last night was my monthly game night with some girlfriends. Despite the title of this post, our night o' fun isn't actually called "Grandma's Game Night" seeing's how I'm the only grandma in the group.

As you other grandmas can attest, it's impossible to remove oneself completely from the grandma role, even during game night with the group of gals for whom I once served as boss. (Believe it or not, they do still like me, they really like me.) So in the back of my mind, as dice rolled and beer flowed, my grandma thoughts rumbled now and again.

And what were those random grandma thoughts? Mostly, I considered that the board games my friends and I like to play would make for a grand ol' time with grandkids. Grandkids older than mine, of course, as Candyland and the Goodnight Moon game certainly weren't what we enjoyed last night.

So for all you grandmas (and non-grandmas) who would enjoy a game night with older children and other adults—grandchildren or not—here are five fun games straight from my game cabinet that I'm happy to recommend for you to try out during your very own Grandma Game Night:

Pass the Popcorn Your Ticket to Fast-paced Movie Fun Movie Guessing Game (2-8 players, ages 12+). This is the newest game in my stash, thanks to Megan and Preston at Christmas time, and last night was the first time I played it during our game night. But it was just as fun last night as it was when Jim, Brianna, Andie and I played it for Jim's birthday a few weeks. If you like movies, you'll like this game. And so will the teen grandchildren who will likely know a few of the comedy ones you may have let pass by.

Loaded Questions Expose Your Self (3-6 players, ages teen to adult). Tests how well you know your fellow players—and yourself, in some cases—thanks to hundreds of questions in four categories. There's no right or wrong answers and no need to know trivia.

Trivial Pursuit Team Choose your team/Choose your questions/Fun, faster play (2 teams, adults— though teens can likely answer just as many questions as most adults). I love trivia games—unless they take forever to get done, as regular Trivial Pursuit does. And unless they have far too many history questions (which I really stink at), as Trivial Pursuit does. This version is just like the tagline says: fun, faster play—and you can choose the entertainment category all you want.

(Electronic) Catch Phrase The grab it, guess it, pass it game (4+ players, adults—again, no reason teens can't play and enjoy). Pretty much Hot Potato with a hefty serving of Password involved. Loads of fun as well as lots of flustering and fumbling as you and your teammates struggle to guess the answers as the time bomb, I mean game unit ticks faster and faster before beeping time's up.

Mad Gab ...It's Not What You SAY, It's What You HEAR! (2-12 players, ages 10+). This game has had my friends and me—and family, at other times—laughing harder than any other game we've played. Cards that seem nonsensical are revealed by one time to the others, who try to guess the phrase. For example, Bat Tree Snot Ink Looted is ... Batteries Not Included. Listening to the wacky pronunciations as players guess and guess again (and again and again and again) is hilarious.

Note: Clicking on the game names above takes you to the official websites for more information. They are not affiliate links, and I make nothing by you clicking.

Today's question:

What is your favorite game—board or otherwise—to play with a group of friends or family?